Author's note: Here's the Rewrite of Chapter 3! Enjoy!
Chapter 3
"That's a lot of weapons,"
"Yeah, there's a lot of Covenant too. What's your point?"
"I dunno...there are just...so many!"
Two recruits stood at a giant wall covered in different varieties of U.N.S.C. guns, grenades, tactical packages, and other equipment. One man was wearing red armor and a Warrior helmet, which he held at his side, and the other had lime armor with an E.O.D. helmet, which remained on his head.
Axel came up behind them. She had just walked into the room the nerd had pointed her to, and this is what she had found.
"Are you going to pick some or just stare at them like a kid stares at a glass candy display?" Axel asked, pushing herself between them and grabbing some frag grenades. They turned to her, and one jumped in surprise at her sudden presence.
"Uh...yeah...we were just...deciding what to pick…" the other stammered. Axel snickered while she grabbed a Magnum and hooked it to her hip.
"Uh-huh. Sure you were," she said sarcastically, grabbing an invisibility armor enhancement. "Hey, do they have any Covenant weapons?" she asked, searching the wall. She had done as much research on the Covenant as she could about a week ago, and knew that Covenant weaponry was powerful.
The boy in lime armor pointed to another wall on the side opposite of them.
"Over there. But there aren't very many, and some don't have any ammo. They're some things that one of the other squads managed to steal on the battlefield. Oh, yeah, there's some Forerunner weaponry too," he explained. "I'm Tony, by the way. Tony Jay," he said, elbowing the boy next to him, as if urging him to introduce himself.
"The name's Norwood. Chris Norwood," the boy in red armor said, failing horribly at a James Bond impression. Axel resisted the urge to face-palm. That movie was so old, she was amazed anyone still knew what it was. Instead of slapping her own face, she simply folded her arms, which felt a bit awkward as the armor on her wrists clanked together in a weird way. The boy apparently known as Tony stepped in front of Chris.
"Ignore him, he's an idiot when it comes to talking to girls," he explained. Chris frowned. Axel gave a chuckle.
"I can tell," she said, smiling. She knew they couldn't see it through her helmet, but she didn't mind. She turned to go toward the wall in which Tony had pointed her to.
"By the way, I'm Axel," she said as she began walking away.
Once she reached the wall of Covenant and Forerunner technology, she tried to run through which weapon would be the best. Needlers weren't too effective, neither were Plasma Pistols, she decided. Storm Rifles were pretty effective, but they overheated too quickly. There was an energy sword, but it had run out of energy and all that was left was the handle, so that was out of the question. There was a Covenant Carbine and a Light Rifle, but they were both out of ammo.
Finally, Axel found something that she wanted, a fully loaded Suppressor. It was rapid-fire, and it did quite a bit of damage. She pulled it off its mount and hooked it onto her back. As she headed out the door, she quickly grabbed some plasma grenades to add to her frag grenades.
A few minutes later, Axel was standing outside in the grass with the rest of her squad all lined up in a row. Sergeant Smith was in front of them, barking orders. They were about to go through a Firefight Simulation with another squad, like one of those pretests you take on things you haven't even learned yet. Axel hoped her studying had paid off.
"Ok spartans, your objective is very simple. All you have to do is neutralize the enemy team. If you did what you were told, you put all the weapons you picked out in your rooms. I've provided you with assault rifles filled with stun rounds, so you will not actually hurt anyone. Too badly, anyway. So, would anyone like to take point? If you're too chicken, I'll pick for you!" Sergeant Smith explained. Everyone looked at each other nervously. Suddenly, a hand shot up. It was the Norwood kid Axel had met earlier.
"I will, sir!" he said, glancing at her.
"Now he's just trying to impress you ,"whispered a familiar voice next to her. It was Tony. How had she not noticed that he was right next to her?
"Finally! I thought we were gonna have to start drawing straws!" Sergeant Smith said, pointing toward Chris.
Suddenly, a loud buzzer sounded from seemingly nowhere.
"Ok recruits, that's the starting bell! Get going!" the Sergeant said, pointing toward the edge of the forest. Each cadet ran toward the forest, eager for battle.
It was quiet and actually sort of peaceful in the forest, despite the sounds of leaves and twigs cracking under the cadets' feet. Tony padded softly up to Chris.
"Ok, what's the plan now, genius?" he asked, knowing Chris had no idea what he was doing.
"I...uh…" he stuttered, trying to think of a plan quickly. Finally, he sighed. "I don't know...c...could someone else take point? So...ya know...we don't lose because of me?" he said. Axel could hear in his voice the disappointment of failing to impress her. She almost felt bad for him. Then it was her turn to sigh.
"Fine, I'll take point," she grumbled, raising her hand and rolling her eyes.
"Yay!" Chris exclaimed, clapping his hands like a child. A few other recruits groaned. They probably didn't want to follow orders from a chick. As she had done many times before, Axel ignored them. Instead, she focused on a plan. They wouldn't be able to hide from the enemy squad, they would see them on their radar. Unless we hold still…
"Ok everyone, divide into two teams, four on one team and five on the other," she instructed. A few Spartans groaned again, but followed orders and disappeared through the brush.
"The team of five will stand in a large circle formation around this area. Make sure that once you get in position, get down and don't move. The team of four, just sort of... spread out and make yourselves appear vulnerable, but shoot if you have to," she said to the remaining men.
"So basically we're just bait?" one man asked angrily.
"Yes. Deal with it. Now go," Axel ordered, not wanting to waste time. The other squad was likely already making its way toward them. The man snorted, but did as he was told. Axel joined the first team in a circle formation, holding still so that she was practically invisible on the radar. And soon enough, the enemy squad approached, checking their radar for Axel's squad and finding nothing except for the four men wandering aimlessly through the undergrowth.
As the enemy squad proceeded forward, they didn't notice Axel's group slowly and silently surround them.
"FIRE!" Axel shouted. Everyone on her squad shot at the unsuspecting squad, hitting every member with stun rounds quickly. The Firefight simulation was over as quickly as it had begun. A girl had lead her squad to victory.